ATLANTA — Georgia families and businesses will pay more on their monthly electric bills, and have less control of their energy costs, after the state’s Public Service Commission today approved a rate hike request from Georgia Power.
The PSC rejected Georgia Power’s original proposal to increase monthly fixed fees from $10 per month to $17.95 per month on customers’ bills, but regulators approved a $4 increase overall, with the first $2 increase in 2021 and an additional $2 increase in 2022.
The plan commissioners approved today was largely the product of an agreement between Georgia Power, the City of Atlanta, MARTA, The Kroger Co., and three organizations representing Georgia manufacturers and other large commercial customers.
No environmental or consumer protection groups signed onto this agreement.
Over the last few months, thousands of Georgia Power customers have turned out to public hearings and town halls and submitted written comments to the PSC asking commissioners to keep the monthly fee at $10, arguing that raising it would reduce customers’ ability to control their energy costs, disincentive energy conservation through solar or energy efficiency, and would have the hardest impact on low-usage customers, which seniors and households earning lower incomes tend to be.
Commissioners also allowed Georgia Power to pass the costs for the clean-up of toxic coal ash ponds across the state to customers. Georgia Power has stored the residual pollution left over from burning coal in muddy ponds alongside the banks of Georgia’s rivers. Coal ash is filled with hazardous chemicals such as arsenic, lead, mercury and hexavalent chromium, and is linked to heart disease, cancer, respiratory diseases and stroke.
Two small but positive elements of today’s vote are noteworthy for encouraging clean energy: inclusion of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the final rate design and a modest boost to rooftop solar customers proposed by Commissioner Tim Echols.
Sierra Club intervened in the rate case to try to minimize the impacts of the rate hike and the burdens of coal ash cleanup costs on families and businesses, and is considering legal options going forward.
In response, Stephen Stetson, campaign representative for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign in Georgia, released the following statement:
“It’s good that Public Service Commissioners resisted giving Georgia Power the full increase it initially sought but, unfortunately, today’s decision diminishes people’s financial incentives to conserve energy and penalizes customers with higher costs before they even flip a lightswitch.
“Commissioners also stumbled badly in their watchdog role by letting Georgia Power pass coal ash costs onto families and businesses, even though the utility provided vague and inadequate cleanup plans and still has no approved permits to do the work. You can be sure Georgia Power will be back in coming years asking for more—and since their total price tag is $7 billion, we know they’ll be coming back often asking for more of our money. Customers could end up paying even more if the Environmental Protection Division changes the unapproved closure plans and Georgia Power has to re-do some of their work to keep poison out of the drinking water.”
Jessica Morehead, interim director of the Sierra Club Georgia Chapter, added:
“Thanks to the passionate activists and volunteers who engaged in this process, we won funding for electric vehicle infrastructure and Georgia Power will only get half of the base rate increase they asked for.
“But aside from these wins, regulators gave politically-connected Georgia Power most of what it asked for instead of protecting the interests of the people. By increasing the fixed monthly fee that all customers pay by 40 percent, the PSC guaranteed that Georgia Power customers will see their monthly bills go up regardless of their energy usage. Additionally, customers will also be required to cover a multi-billion-dollar bill for cleaning up the toxic coal ash Georgia Power is storing in unsafe pits, leaking toxic pollutants into our groundwater, across the state—despite Georgia Power's woefully inadequate explanation for how it plans to use that money."
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.
About the Sierra Club Georgia Chapter
The Sierra Club Georgia Chapter is the largest grassroots environmental organization in the state of Georgia with more than 75,000 members and supporters. We have a robust outings program and have active committees working on forest and coastal protection, transit expansion, and clean energy. Inspired by nature, we work together to protect our communities and the planet.